Sung Joon was linked to popular actress and singer, miss A’s Suzy, last year when they were spotted dining out. A video clip of the incident showed Sung Joon casually putting his arm around Suzy’s neck. Both agencies later denied the rumors, stating that the two were close friends and colleagues, and that other people were present as well.

Sung Joon was inevitably asked about the dating rumors at the conference, and he replied with an embarrassed smile, “What should I say?”

“I got criticized a lot because of it. She’s a very famous person so I think the impact was bigger. If it was someone else, it would have been different. I thought it wasn’t a big deal, but I became number one the next day [in search rankings].”

When asked if he remains close to Suzy, he replied, “I think she’s busy now. We’re not in contact with one another now. I felt apologetic (about the rumors).”

Sung Joon was asked if they were dating, and he denied those rumors flatly, “No. We’re not dating.”

Now that we’ve got the dating drama out of the way, “I Need Romance 3” will tell the story of the lives of “alpha girls” in their 20s and 30s and the rivalry, friendship and love between them, set against the background of a home shopping company.

“I Need Romance 3” premieres on tvN on January 13 at 9:40 PM KST, and will air every Monday and Tuesday.